The Biden administration is currently engaged in active negotiations with Iran to secure the release of five American prisoners who have been placed under house arrest. These negotiations also involve a reported prisoner exchange and the release of $6 billion in oil revenue, which will be used to purchase essential supplies.
White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby emphasized that the deal is not yet finalized, but discussions are underway to bring the five Americans back home.
Kirby also defended the deal against criticism from GOP lawmakers, assuring that the release of $6 billion will be strictly regulated to ensure it is used for the purchase of food, medicine, and medical equipment without military applications.
“There will be a thorough screening process and standards will be imposed with input from the U.S. Treasury Department,” he stated during a briefing call with reporters.
Critics from the GOP have argued that the administration is essentially paying a large ransom, which could encourage countries like Russia and China to target Americans.
“While I am pleased to see wrongfully detained Americans returning home, unfreezing $6 billion in Iranian assets only serves to promote hostage-taking and provides financial support for hostile regimes,” tweeted Senator Jim Risch (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“The Biden Administration must take action against those who use Americans as political pawns and work towards ending this practice.”
On the other hand, Democrats have maintained that these concessions are necessary in order to secure the release of unjustly detained Americans.
“Reaching agreements with hostile regimes to secure the release of hostages is never easy. It involves making difficult tradeoffs,” tweeted Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on the Middle East.
“But as Americans, we prioritize the return of our people. Period. This was the right decision by Biden.”
President Biden has made the release of Americans imprisoned abroad a top priority, particularly those detained in Iran.
The five individuals currently under house arrest include Siamak Namazi, who has been imprisoned since 2015 and was sentenced to 10 years for “collaborating with enemy states”; Emad Sharghi, who was convicted of spying and sentenced to 10 years in 2020; and Morad Tahbaz, who was arrested in 2018 and also received a 10-year sentence for spying.
Two other Americans are part of the deal, but their names have not been released to protect their privacy, according to U.S. officials.
“Although there is still work to be done in bringing them home, I believe this is the beginning of the end of their nightmare and the nightmare their families have endured,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a press conference on Thursday.
The $6 billion in question comes from Iranian oil profits that had been frozen in South Korean banks since 2019 when the Trump administration revoked waivers allowing certain countries to purchase Iranian oil while it faced U.S. sanctions.
The aim of this move was to financially weaken Tehran and reduce its oil exports to zero, as part of the previous administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign, which also included the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal with Iran.
Reports indicate that the Biden administration plans to transfer these funds to a bank account in Qatar, controlled by the Qatari government, which will oversee Iranian purchases.
The successful repatriation of Americans imprisoned in Iran, in exchange for five Iranians serving sentences in U.S. jails for sanctions violations, could potentially serve as a confidence-building measure between Washington and Tehran with regards to Iran’s nuclear program.
In June, The New York Times reported that U.S. officials were engaged in talks with Iran for an informal agreement. Under this agreement, Iran would limit its enrichment of nuclear fuel, increase cooperation with international nuclear inspectors, halt attacks by its proxy forces on U.S. contractors in Syria and Iraq, and refrain from selling ballistic missiles to Russia.
In return, the U.S. would release the frozen oil profits and refrain from further tightening existing sanctions, as per the Times’ report at the time.
These reports faced strong opposition from GOP lawmakers who celebrated Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal in 2018.
On Friday, Kirby clarified that the administration is not currently focused on negotiations to revive the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. However, he did express that any deescalating steps Iran takes in relation to its nuclear ambitions would be welcomed.
“If Iran were to take deescalating measures concerning their nuclear program, that would certainly be beneficial,” he stated. “While we are not actively engaged in negotiations with Iran regarding the nuclear program, similar to the Iran deal, we would welcome such steps.”
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